Ajaratou Dr Isatou Njie-Saidy, vice president and secretary of state for Women’s Affairs, yesterday presided over the opening of a one-day validation workshop convened on the study on the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme and Cross Border Trade.

The workshop is being held at the Paradise Suites Hotel in Kololi. Organised by the ECOWAS Gender Development Centre and the office of the vice president, the meeting brought together women traders and entrepreneurs from ECOWAS member states, including some National Assembly members, as well as officials from Customs, Immigration and Police.

This is the second phase of the study on cross border trade carried out by the center, covering The Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Mali and Senegal. The outcome of this meeting is expected to provide the empirical basis for an authoritative discourse on the gender dimensions of trade in the ECOWAS region and come up with concrete recommendations that will adequately address the challenges and obstacles to cross-border trading activities of women traders and entrepreneurs.

In her opening statement, VP Njie-Saidy described the study as “very important for several reasons”, commending the ECOWAS Gender Development Centre for placing research at the heart of its activities, and for its foresight in dealing with the gender gaps and inequalities in the ECOWAS region. VP Njie-Saidy labelled the lack of reliable information and gender disaggregated data to support advocacy initiatives and policy formulation processes as some of the major challenges facing the fight for gender equality and women’s empowerment in most parts of the World.

"In the ECOWAS region, the lack of adequate gender disaggregated data has hampered efforts to develop concrete arguments that will inform policy frameworks for the promotion of gender equity and equality. This has also made it quite difficult to embark on programme initiatives that adequately address the practical and strategic gender needs of women," said VP Njie-Saidy. And she added that the theme of the study which is ‘The ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme and Cross-Border Trade: The experiences of women traders and entrepreneurs’ is indeed laudable, and that it touches on the fundamentals of the integration process of the ECOWAS region.

She recalled that the establishment of ECOWAS was predicated on the objectives of promoting cooperation and integration, leading to the establishment of an economic union in West Africa in order to raise the living standards of the people and to maintain and enhance economic stability, foster relations among member states and contribute to the progress and development of the African continent.

According to VP Njie-Saidy, the core of the integration process within ECOWAS has been the promotion of regional trade through market and monetary integration and very close political cooperation, characterized by the free movement of persons, goods, services and capital. Speaking earlier, Aminatta Dibba, director of the ECOWAS Gender Development Centre, informed participants that the meeting falls within the framework of the second phase of the study which targeted women traders and entrepreneurs from four member countries of ECOWAS.

Dibba spoke at length on the important role women traders and entrepreneurs play in the regional integration process, in terms of revitalising sub regional cooperation and strengthening ECOWAS capacity to integrate into the global market. Despite all these, she stated, "these women are subjected to all kinds of harassment when conducting their activities." Studies have shown that the majority of people engaged in trade in ECOWAS member states, particularly in the formal sector, are women, who are also key players in cross-border trade in the  region, accounting for up to 90 per cent of informal trade, along the borders of ECOWAS member states.

Women traders and entrepreneurs are therefore key stakeholders in the integration process and they also play a significant role in strengthening the ability of ECOWAS to compete meaningfully in the global market.